Gymnastic machine

ABSTRACT

A gymnastic machine ( 1 ) comprising a frame ( 10 ) supporting a first actuating device ( 40 ) provided with at least a pair of first levers ( 102 )( 104 ), each of which presents a respective implement ( 112 )( 116 ) suitable to act as user interface; a load unit ( 300 ) being provided in connection with the first levers ( 102 ) so as to dissipate power applied to each implement ( 112 )( 116 ) in a proportion definable at will; said load unit ( 300 ) being designed to maintain the first levers ( 102 )( 104 ) in phase opposition; second actuating devices ( 50 ) of magnetic kind being associated with the load unit ( 300 ) to bring and maintain the first levers ( 102 )( 104 ) at rest in a neutral position so as to prevent stopping conditions.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a gymnastic machine. In particular, thepresent invention relates to a gymnastic machine provided with a loadgroup that can be actuated cyclically. In more detail, the presentinvention relates to a gymnastic machine comprising a load group thatcan be actuated cyclically through at least one actuating memberdesigned to be movable along an annular path.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

In the sector of gymnastic machines for cardiovascular training, the useis well known of load groups provided with at least one rotatingmechanical member carried by a frame of the machine and designed to actas dissipator of power exerted by a user on an implement coupled to themechanical member directly or indirectly, through the interposition of atransmission device. Such a mechanical member, generally comprising aflywheel, presents a significant mass, to make the power exchange withthe user easier during the machine operation, and, at the end of thetraining exercise, maintains its condition of rotary motion until theinertial torque associated with the flywheel is balanced by theresistant torque deriving from the combined action of the frictionspresent in the pair of members in relative motion, and of the inertia ofthe members usable for the actuation. It is easily understood that theflywheel stops when the inertial torque, linked to the rotating massthereof, becomes lower than the resistant torque typical of the movablemembers of the machine that are connected to the flywheel. When thiscondition occurs, the flywheel is preferably arranged in a position, towhich a given arrangement of the movable members of the machinecorresponds, that can match with a stopping condition that must bereleased to allow starting of the machine from the rest operatingcondition. In particular, to release the machine it will be necessary toactuate contrarily the members used for the actuation and it can requiregreat efforts for users with athletic preparation of any level.Obviously, such a problem occurs also in machines where theresistant/load group is of the electromechanical type.

In view of the above description, the problem of having available amachine for cardiovascular training, where the condition of mechanicalblock can be avoided, is currently unsolved, and represents aninteresting challenge for the applicant, in order to facilitate thesetypes of training through mechanical or electromechanical machines.

In view of the situation described above, it would be desirable to haveavailable an economical safe gymnastic machine which, in addition toenabling to limit and possibly to overcome the typical drawbacks of theprior art illustrated above, could define a new standard for thecardiovascular training methods.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a gymnastic machine. In particular, thepresent invention relates to a gymnastic machine provided with a loadgroup that can be actuated cyclically. In more detail, the presentinvention relates to a gymnastic machine comprising a load group thatcan be actuated cyclically through at least one actuating member movablealong an annular path.

The object of the present invention is to provide a gymnastic machinefor executing gymnastic exercises, which allows the disadvantagesdescribed above to be solved, which is practical in use and economical,and which is suitable to satisfy a plurality of requirements that todate have still not been addressed, capable of modifying the currentmarket of the gymnastic machines and the training techniques, andtherefore suitable to represent a new and original source of economicinterest.

According to the present invention, a gymnastic machine is provided,whose main characteristics will be described in at least one of theappended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Further characteristics and advantages of the gymnastic machineaccording to the present invention will be more apparent from thedescription below, set forth with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, which illustrate at least one non-limiting example ofembodiment, in which identical or corresponding parts of the device areidentified by the same reference numbers. In particular:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view with some parts removed for the sake ofclarity of a machine according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in enlarged scale and with some parts removed for thesake of clarity of a portion of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a view in enlarged scale and with some parts removed for thesake of clarity of a portion of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIG. 1, number 1 indicates, in its entirety, a gymnastic machinevalidly usable for executing an aerobic gymnastic exercise, andtherefore for training the cardiovascular system. It should be notedthat, for the sake of practicality, without however limiting theprotective scope of the present invention, the gymnastic machine 1 is ofthe type already described with reference to the Italian patentapplication No. RA2008A000045, whose description and mosaics shall beconsidered an integral part of the present description for saving textand drawings, when indicated, even if the reference numbers used toindicate identical parts different from each other for descriptionrequirements.

With reference to FIG. 1 again, the machine 1 comprises a frame 10, anactuating device 40 provided with a pair of first levers 102, each ofwhich is supported by the frame 10 through the interposition of a secondlever 104, pivoted on the frame 10 and through a first flexible member106, better described below, which supports the first lever 102 inintermediate position through an articulated connection 114.

Each first lever 102 is therefore connected to the frame 10 so as tooscillate similarly to a connecting rod of a four bar linkage relativeto the frame 10. Each first lever 102 presents an end portion 108 shapedto couple with the lever 104; each first lever 102 furthermore presentsa free end 110 at opposite side from the end portion 108 and providedwith a footrest 112. In view of the above description, each footrest 112is arranged substantially overhanging behind the connection 114 inFIG. 1. Each second lever 104 presents, at opposite side relative to theend portion 108 of the corresponding first lever 102, a knob 116, thatis tiltable relative to the frame 10 in view of the above descriptionand can be held by a user for moving the upper limbs. The machine 1furthermore comprises a load device 300 arranged at the side of the endportion 108 of the first lever 102, without however limiting theprotective scope of the present invention. This load device 300 isprovided with a flywheel 320 carried by the frame 10 in a freelyrotatable manner around a given substantially horizontal pivot axis 30,as shown in FIG. 1. This flywheel 320 is kinematically connected withthe actuating device 40 through a transmission 200, already describedwith reference to the patent application No. RA2008A000045 andfunctionally recalled hereafter with the minimum required detail, forthe sake of practicality. In addition to the first flexible member 106and to the respective return members, not described for the sake ofpracticality, this transmission 200 furthermore comprises, for eachfirst lever 102, a crank 322, rigidly coaxially connected with theflywheel 320. The transmission 200 furthermore comprises, for each crank322, a second flexible member 24, already known from the patentapplication No. RA2008A000045 and connected with the corresponding firstflexible member 106 through a joint 26, which is associated with theframe 10 and is already known from the same patent application No.RA2008A000045. The two cranks 322 are mutually opposite, i.e. they arein phase opposition, so as to put the flywheel 320 into rotation underthe thrust of the two footrests 112 through the first and secondflexible members 106 and 24. The particular arrangement of the cranks322 maintains therefore the levers 102 constantly in phase opposition.

In view of the above description, in the machine 1 taken herein as areference to illustrate an embodiment of the present invention, thefootrests 112 are constrained to move along an horizontally elongatedelliptical trajectory, extending vertically for a limited width, andtherefore the machine 1 can be used for walking or running training.

As it is well known, the flywheel 320 comprises a circular member withsignificant mass, whose object is, in use, to store rotational kineticenergy produced by actuating the footrests 112 and/or the knobs 106 tosmooth the execution of the gymnastic exercise performed through themachine 1. The flywheel 320 acts therefore as a power dissipator memberuntil the rotation speed in the starting phase of the machine 1 achievesa substantially constant value and, during the use thereof understeady-state conditions, it acts as accumulated power “reserve” tofacilitate preservation of a steady-state operation. The presence of theflywheel 320 therefore makes the stop times of the machine 1 longer, inphase of conclusion of the exercise.

It should be noted that a stopping condition of the machine 1 can occurwhen the belt 24 is arranged according to the vertical, the cranks 322are aligned with the belt 24 and the first levers 102 are arranged in ascissor manner, in the respective top and bottom dead centres.

The loading device 300 furthermore presents a power dissipating memberof the adjustable type comprising an electromagnetic brake 340 carriedby the frame 10 and provided with a rotating disk 342 mechanicallyconnected to the flywheel 320 in an angularly fixed manner through afurther belt transmission 400 with parallel axes. The loading device 300therefore combines partially fixed and partially adjustable mechanicalcharacteristic, respectively set by the flywheel 320 and by the brake340. The transmission 400 can be single- or multi-stage. In particular,although without limiting the protective scope of the present invention,in the attached drawings this transmission 400 is double-stage. Theobject of this transmission 400 is to modify the kinematic parameters ofthe disk 342 of the brake 340 relative to those of the flywheel 320 andof the first levers 102, responsible for the actuation of all the movingparts of the machine 1 to improve the performances of the brake 340.

The machine 1 furthermore comprises an anti-stopping device 50associated with the flywheel 320 and comprising at least one magnet 52carried by the flywheel 320. In particular, with reference to FIG. 3,the anti-stopping device 50 comprises a pair of movable magnets 52carried by the flywheel 320. These magnets 52 are diametricallyopposite, analogously to the cranks 322, and are generally displacedrelative to a quadrature condition with these latter for reasons thatwill be more apparent below. This anti-stopping device 50 furthermorecomprises a fixed magnet 54, carried by the frame 10 in a positionfacing each movable magnet 52. In particular, the frame 10 carries thefixed magnet 54 at a height substantially identical to the distance ofthe trace of the axis 30 in FIG. 1 relative to a pavement PV, on whichthe machine 1 stands, so that the two movable magnets 52 aresubstantially equidistant from the fixed magnet 54 when the flywheel 320is arranged with the cranks 322 substantially horizontal, in anarrangement visible in FIG. 1 and, in more detail, in FIG. 3. In view ofthe above description, the movable magnets 52 and the fixed magnet 54are arranged at a substantially identical radial distance from the pivotaxis 30 of the flywheel 320, so as to exert on the flywheel 320 a torqueof magnetic nature suitable to constrain the flywheel 320 to take agiven operating position relative to the frame 10. To achieve this, themovable magnets 52 and the magnet 54 present homologous oppositemagnetic poles and the magnetic repulsion force exchanged between thehomologous poles of each magnet 52 and of the magnet 54 is maximum whenthese magnets face each other. This repulsion force decreasessignificantly in case of even minimum displacement between a magnet 52and the magnet 54, i.e. the case where the magnetic torque on theflywheel 320 appears. This explains why the arrangement of the magnets52 on the flywheel 320 in not in quadrature with the cranks 322, as, inthat case, the repulsion force could be maximum but the stoppingcondition could not be overcome easily due to the condition of a magnet52 facing the magnet 54. Therefore, each crank 322 is normally displacedrelative to the magnet 52 by an angle different than 90°. A confirmationof this situation can be obtained graphically in FIG. 2 and, in enlargedscale, in FIG. 3, observing the straight line L and the angle with thestraight line connecting the centres of the two movable magnets 52, andthe inclination of the flexible member 24 relative to a verticaldirection, in particular in FIG. 2. These figures show a situation ofdown time, wherein, due to the interaction between the adjacent magnets52 and 54, the cranks 322 move away from the vertical position, thusmaking impossible to detect the stopping condition.

Obviously, the choice of the movable magnets 52 and of the fixed magnet54 is made to have available, when the movable magnets 52 and the fixedmagnet 54 are slightly displaced from each other, a sufficient torque tomove the cranks 322 from the stopping position and, consequently, thefirst levers 102 from the scissor position.

To this position of the cranks 322 can therefore correspond any restposition of the first levers 102, provided that it is different from thescissor arrangement of the first levers 102 visible in FIG. 1.

In view of the above description, the anti-stopping device 50 can beinterpreted as a second actuating device, that acts when there is noexternal load acting on the first levers 102 or on the second levers104.

The use of the gymnastic machine 1 described above is readily apparentin view of the above description and requires no additionalexplanations.

Lastly, it is apparent that modifications and variants can be made tothe gymnastic machine 1 described and illustrated herein, withouthowever departing from the protective scope of the present invention.

For instance, it is easily understood that the movable magnets 52 and/orthe fixed magnet 54 can be of the permanent type or they can beelectromagnets powered by an electric current adjustable in a known andtherefore not shown manner, so as to produce a magnetic field withintensity variable also instant by instant, to avoid stopping conditionsof the first/second levers 102/104 even with internal friction betweenthe moving members of the machine 1 greater than the project conditions.For this purpose it should be advisable to complete the outfit of thegymnastic machine with a power-supply unit, no-load resistance sensorsand an electronic unit to which connect the sensors and the magnets soas to vary adequately the parameters of the electric current to supplyto these latter.

In view of the above description it is clearly apparent that eachgymnastic machine 1 structured as described above is suitable to beused, starting from the rest condition, also by deconditioned users orusers who could feel awkward in performing opposite actuation operationsof the machine they want to use to perform a cardiovascular trainingsession.

I claim:
 1. A gymnastic machine comprising: a frame supporting firstactuating means provided with at least a pair of first levers, each ofwhich presents a respective implement suitable to act as user interface;loading means connected with said first levers so as to dissipate powerapplied to each said implement in a proportion definable at will; saidloading means being designed so as to maintain said first levers inphase opposition; wherein second actuating means of magnetic nature areprovided; said second actuating means being associated with said loadingmeans to bring and maintain said first levers in a rest position so asto prevent stopping conditions.
 2. A machine according to claim 1,wherein said loading means comprises a first dissipating member of fixedmechanical feature and a dissipating device of adjustable mechanicalfeature; said first dissipating member comprising a flywheel carried bysaid frame in a freely rotatable manner about a pivot axis and a pair ofcranks rigidly and coaxially coupled with said flywheel so as to bemutually arranged in phase opposition; each said crank beingmechanically connected to a said first lever so as to maintainconstantly said first levers mutually in phase opposition.
 3. A machineaccording to claim 2, wherein said second actuating means comprises atleast a movable magnet, rigidly carried by said flywheel, and a fixedmagnet, carried by said frame in a position facing each said movablemagnet.
 4. A machine according to claim 3, wherein said second actuatingmeans comprises a pair of movable magnets carried rigidly by saidflywheel and mutually diametrically opposite and displaced relative tosaid cranks by an angle different than 90°.
 5. A machine according toclaim 4, wherein said flywheel and said fixed magnet are carried by saidframe at a substantially identical height, so as to constrain saidcranks to be arranged aligned with said fixed magnet and with said pivotaxis.
 6. A machine according to claim 5, wherein said first actuatingmeans comprises a pair of second levers, each of which is pivoted tosaid frame and to a corresponding said first lever near a respective endportion at the side of said flywheel.
 7. A machine according to claim 6,wherein each said first lever is carried by said frame so as tooscillate similarly to a connecting rod of an articulated quadrilateralthrough a said second lever and a first flexible member relative to saidframe; each said first lever comprising a footrest as user interface,and each said second lever comprising a knob as user interface.
 8. Amachine according to claims 4, wherein said movable magnets and/or saidfixed magnet can be of the permanent type or current poweredelectromagnets, so as to enable an adjustment of the driving force thatcan be exerted by said second actuating means to avoid conditions ofstopping of said first and second levers also under conditions offriction greater than the project conditions.
 9. A machine according toclaim 1, wherein said dissipating device comprises an electromagneticbrake.
 10. A gymnastic machine comprising: a frame supporting firstactuating means provided with at least a pair of first levers, each ofsaid first levers including a respective user interface; loading meansconnected with said first levers for dissipating power applied to eachsaid user interface in a proportion definable at will and formaintaining said first levers in phase opposition; and at least amovable magnet and a fixed magnet, carried by said frame in a positionfacing each said movable magnet and being associated with said loadingmeans for bringing and maintaining said first levers in a rest positionand for preventing stopping conditions of said first levers.